1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a printed material processing method, a printed material processing apparatus, and an imaging forming apparatus.
2. Related Art
The use of ink jet printers is spreading in a wide range of fields with industrial applications since recording of precision digital color images is easy. For example, components and processed materials, where an image is formed (printed) on a surface in advance using an ink jet printer, are used in processing and manufacturing lines for products with various designs and various colorings.
In manufacturing processes where such components and processed materials are used, there are cases where, for example, damage is imparted on a printed layer at a processing location such as a punching blade or a cutting blade which are used in processing. In contrast to this, a method is described, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-96043 where UV ink with low hardness is used in images which are formed at processing locations in order to prevent cracks being generated in the printed layer (a layer of UV ink which is cured) at the processing location.
However, in the method described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-96043, it is necessary for UV inks where the hardness is different to be prepared for each color of UV ink which is to be used and it is necessary for an image forming apparatus such as an ink jet printer to be provided with discharge heads which are different in order to discharge the UV inks. For this reason, there is a problem in that the cost of the apparatus increases and the size of the apparatus becomes larger. In addition, there are problems in that slight differences occur in the coloring of images which are formed due to differences in the composition of the UV ink where the hardness is different even with UV inks of the same colors, the differences are particularly pronounced at interface sections, and printing quality is reduced.